The Silver Shoe
by ABunchOfMellarky
Summary: Katniss finds her Prince Charming at a party thrown by Mayor Undersee. Written for Day One of the Prompts in Panem AU week.


**The Silver Shoe**

When Katniss was handed the thick paper envelope, she did not know what to think. First of all, she did not know what on earth it was. She flipped it over in her hands, wondering if she would some how be able to figure it without opening it. However, the only thing that she recognized was the sight of her own name on the front, written in beautiful calligraphy. The thick black ink had hadn't even dripped.

She had never received an envelope like this before. She had seen them traded among merchants in the past, usually around Christmas time or sometimes on people's birthdays. People in the Seam had much more important things to spend their money on than silly pieces of fancy paper that would soon be thrown away. Whenever she saw one, she would usually roll her eyes. But for some reason she could not deny that having one with her name on it gave her a tiny little pleasure.

"What is this?" Katniss asked, still examining and running her fingers over the smooth off-white paper. The bright smile that had been on Madge's face had fallen as she realized that Katniss was not as flattered as she ought to be by the gesture.

"It's an invitation," Madge said.

"Oh," Katniss answered. "An invitation to what?"

She had never received an invitation before. The only time she had ever been to an event that would have called for an invitation was for Posy Hawthorne's first birthday party. However, the Hawthrones did not have the money to spend on a formal party. Gale had simply asked her to come over and celebrate after they had spent an afternoon in the woods.

"My father has been appointed Mayor for another term," Madge said with a smile.

"That's nice," Katniss responded in confusion. She did not know what that had to do with the envelope in her hand. Although she had to say that she was happy. Mayor Undersee was a decent mayor after all, and most of District 12 would much rather he stay in charge than take the risk of having a new mayor – a new mayor that might not be as interested in the welfare of District 12's citizens.

"He's having a celebration. He said that I could invite people from my class."

"Oh," Katniss said. She nodded her head. Now she understood. She had the good fortune of being born in the same year as Madge Undersee, so she was now granted the gift of attending a fancy party, even though she was brought up in the Seam. It was very humanitarian of them.

Katniss forced a tight lipped smile and placed the invitation into the bag slung over her shoulder where she kept her books. "Thanks," she said with a shrug. She then closed the door of the wooden cubby where she kept her things, grabbed her book of arithmetic, and headed home for the day.

* * *

The following Sunday she went hunting. Between she and Gale, they had gathered two squirrels a and small turkey. It was a pretty good day, considering that Gale did not have as much time as he once did to devote to hunting. Since he had started working in the mines, he and Katniss were only able to make it out together on Sundays for a couple of hours at a time. They had traded one of the squirrels and the turkey in the Hob and had decided to save one squirrel for the baker, as he was always an eager sell.

When she and Gale walked in the door to the Mellark family bakery, they were met with the disgusted glare of a merchant woman who was currently standing at the counter as one of the Mellark sons boxed up an order of buns for her. Katniss looked down at the blood stained game bag in her hand. Suddenly self conscious, she tucked the strand of hair that had come out from her braid behind her ear.

"Can I help you?" Katniss was startled by the sound of a voice calling her from the counter. Her eyes left the judgmental woman and the eldest Mellark boy and found the sight of the youngest. It was then that her heart started palpitating. Luckily, Gale took the game bag from her and walked up to the counter.

Katniss stood back as Gale and Peeta Mellark worked out a trade agreement. Katniss merely started at the blond haired young man, hoping desperately that he could not tell how uncomfortable she was. When Katniss and Gale had agreed to change their hunting time to Sundays, she had not taken into consideration the possibility that she would have to go to the bakery during a time when he might be working.

Katniss had spent her formative years avoiding the youngest Mellark at every possible cost. Years ago, when he had saved her life by throwing her a piece of burnt bread, she had known instantly that she would never be able to pay him back. Almost seven years had passed since that day, and she still had not managed to shake the overwhelming feeling of debt that slammed into her whenever she saw him. And what did not help were the looks he would always give her when they did see each other. His eyes had a way of boring into her soul.

"Hi, Katniss."

Her eyes went wide as he suddenly said her name. She had thought that it was a silent agreement between the two of them that they were never actually to speak to each other. She looked over to Gale who was staring at her as if she had suddenly gone insane. Katniss was not so sure that she hadn't. Peeta looked nervous as he wrapped up the rolls that he and Gale had agreed upon.

"Uh….hi…" she squeaked.

"Are you…um…" Peeta reached up and scratched his head. "Are you going to Mayor Undersee's party next weekend?"

"Oh, I-"

"Cause I was wondering-"

"I don't really know. I might have to watch Prim…"

"Oh," Peeta said, nodding. "Right. Yeah…I don't know either." He handed a brown bag full of bread to Gale. "I'll see you later."

She and Gale quickly turned and made their way out of the bakery. Gale kept looking back as they made their way home, his eyes narrowing. "What was that about?"

"What?" Katniss asked, worried that Gale had finally caught on to just how uncomfortable she was around Peeta Mellark.

"You're going to a merchant party?" Gale asked accusatorily.

Katniss rolled her eyes and breathed an inner sigh of relief. She would much rather Gale be concerned about that stupid party than have to explain how she owed the baker's son her life. "I dunno. Madge invited everyone in our class."

"So are you going to go?" Gale asked as he and Katniss walked the small path through the tiny wooded area that separated the town from the Seam. They had stepped out of it almost as soon as they had stepped in, quickly leaving world full of sturdy brick buildings and entering back into their own world full of wooden shacks. Gale tore off a piece of bread that they had just traded for and handed it to her.

"I don't think so," she answered. "It's not like they really want me there. She was just being polite. Besides, I wouldn't know what to do at a party like that. And I don't have anything to wear. It would just be embarrassing."

Katniss' house was now in sight and suddenly Gale stopped. Katniss stopped along with him and looked between him and her house. He usually came over after they went hunting, just for a few moments to check in on Prim. Sometimes they would even have a somewhat pleasant conversation with her mother. "Do….do you want to come over for a second?" she asked. "Prim just made some cheese. You could-"

"Um…" Gale said, running a hand through his hair. "I have to get home. Vick needed help with homework."

"Oh well…" Katniss said. "You could come by later…"

"I think its gonna be like… an all night thing. It's a project."

"Oh," Katniss said. "Okay. Well I'll see you next weekend then."

"Yeah. Next weekend."

"I'll see you later, Catnip."

"Bye…"

Katniss stood there as she watched Gale walk away. She hadn't even said she was going to a merchant party, and she was already in risk of losing Gale over it.

By the time Katniss went to school the Friday of the party all of the merchant kids had dates to the Mayor's party. It seemed like most of the kids from the Seam, however, were doing little to nothing about it. In fact, Katniss hadn't heard anyone from the Seam even mention it.

She was sitting in the library, which was really nothing more than a room with three bookshelves when Mrs. Kelley had to yell at Delly Cartwright for squealing when Jack Redgrove asked her to go to the party with him. Katniss rolled her eyes. Delly seemed nice enough, but her boundless cheerfulness seemed to rub her the wrong way on more than one occasion. Apparently she wasn't the only one, as Mara Smythe, a Seam girl who was currently sitting across from her audibly scoffed.

"As if the rest of the world stops because the merchant kids get to go to some stuck up party…" she whispered to Katniss. Katniss looked up from her book in confusion.

"Yeah but…" she began. "Aren't you going to go?"

Mara laughed. "Like Madge Undersee would invite us to her Dad's party?" The bell rang and Mara collected her books. "See you later, Katniss."

"Bye…" Katniss said, watching Mara as she walked away. She was suddenly very confused.

Luckily, the next class that Katniss had was biology class. She and Madge had partnered up at the beginning of the year. The year before they had eaten lunch together regularly. Katniss found her tolerable, and thought that if she was going to have to work together with someone Madge would be a good choice.

Madge was currently putting gloves on over her hands and getting ready to cut into the frog on the tray in front of them. Katniss found the entire thing kind of unnerving and was glad that Madge was taking the lead. She didn't have a problem gutting animals when she was out in the woods or about to eat them, but there was something about doing it as a clinical procedure that did not sit well with her.

"Um… Madge?" Katniss asked as she watched the other girl pick up a scalpel. "About your Dad's party…"

"Oh!" Madge said happily. "I hope you can make it, Katniss. I'd really like you to be there."

"I um…." Katniss scratched her head. "I was just wondering how many people you invited."

Madge shrugged. "Not many," she answered. "Just some of my good friends. If you want to bring someone you can. Like your sister. Or Gale Hawthrone…"

"Oh," Katniss said. "Um… Gale's pretty busy. But I'll think about it. Thanks."

Madge sliced into the frog and Katniss was too distracted by her thoughts to pay much attention. She turned her attention instead to the window. She had never entertained the possibility that Madge's invite was more than a charitable gesture. She had gone her entire school career thinking that she did not really have any friends aside from Gale. Now, suddenly faced with the reality that Madge had invited her because she considered her a real friend, Katniss' opinion had suddenly changed. She had the overwhelming desire to actually go.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Katniss, but its just not possible," her mother said, walking out of Prim's bedroom. Prim had caught a small case of the stomach flu and had stayed home from school that day. According to her mother, it was nothing more than a bug that had been going around and her fever was low enough that there was no real cause for worry. But she still shouldn't be alone.

"I can't stay," her mother continued. "Mrs. Hannock's water broke. I need to get over there right away. I need you to stay with Prim."

Katniss nodded. She couldn't very well leave her sister here while she was sick. She couldn't help but think it was silly of her to want to go anyway. Up until this afternoon she hadn't even wanted to think about going to this party. She didn't have anything to wear, and just because she was touched by Madge's eagerness to invite her didn't mean that she would know what to do or how to behave at such an event.

Still she was heartbroken. In just the few short hours that she had learned that Madge considered her a friend, she had begun to look forward to going to the party. She looked forward to what it might mean for her. It had been such a long time since she had let anyone else into her life. Since her father died she hadn't had the time for any friends – other than Gale that is. And really the only reason that she and Gale were friends was because they were thrown together by a mutual need to survive.

Katniss had also been reluctant to let anyone into her life once the annual reapings had begun for the kids of her year. She didn't want to make a good friend just to lose him or her when the time came. But the reapings were now behind her. The only person she had to worry about now was Prim.

It would be nice to have a friend, especially considering she was not sure how much longer Gale was going to be in her life. Every time she spurned one of his advances or told him of her desire not to marry she felt him getting father and farther away from her. She supposed it was only natural. After all if the tables were turned, she would probably feel and act much the same way. Still it hurt. And with school ending soon, Katniss had the feeling that the amount of time she had to make friends was getting smaller and smaller. Soon everyone would be getting married, and she would be left alone.

"Right now I need you to go to the Hob and get some broth for your sister," Mrs. Everdeen said, handing Katniss a single coin. "Hopefully that will be enough. Be quick. I don't want her home alone for long."

Katniss stood by the door with the coin in her hand as her mother wrapped a scarf around her head and walked out the door with a bag of supplies in hand. She peaked into her room, where she found her little sister fast asleep on their bed. A light sweat had broken out on her forehead. With a sigh, Katniss turned and walked out of the house, making her way to the Hob.

When she had made it to Greasy Sae, the older woman was already in the middle of a trade with someone else. In an effort to distract herself, Katniss began to poke through a tray full of trinkets on Sae's table. It wasn't until she heard the older woman call out her name that she realized Sae's other customer had left.

"I need some broth for Prim," Katniss said, setting the coin her mother had given her down on the table. "She's sick."

Greasy Sae shook her head. "That's not going to get you much."

Katniss shrugged. "Whatever you can give," she replied.

Sae nodded and ladled some broth into a small cup. "What are you doing out now?" Sae asked. "Word around the Hob is that you've been invited to the Mayor's party."

Katniss met Sae's glance sadly. "I was. I was going to go but…. Tawny Hannock went into labor. I have to stay at home with Prim."

Sae gave Katniss a sad smile and touched her hand. Maybe it was that Sae simply knew Katniss very well over the years, or maybe Katniss was wearing her emotions on her sleeve, but the older woman seemed to know that Katniss was saddened at the thought that she wasn't going to be able to attend Madge's party. If it was anyone but Sae, Katniss might be slightly embarrassed at being upset over such a trivial thing. However, Sae never seemed to judge her. She shook her head.

"That's a shame," she said. "It's about time you were allowed to be a young girl for once."

Katniss shrugged. "I can't leave Prim alone," she said. She then forced a fake smile. "It's probably for the best. It's not like I have anything to wear anyway."

* * *

"I'm sorry you have to stay home with me," Prim said, looking up at her older sister from their bed. Katniss had dragged a chair up next to the bed and was reading to her sister from a book of old fairy tales. The younger girl had managed to eat about half of the broth that she had brought home and she had kept it down. Katniss placed the rest of it in the ice box for later.

"Don't apologize, little duck," Katniss said, running her hand through her sister's damp bangs. "Spending the night with you is just as much fun as a party."

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better, Katniss."

Katniss was about to respond when there was suddenly a knock on the front door. "That must be Mom," she said, placing the book down on the chair and leaving her room. It was not uncommon for people to pay their mother in goods and food, as actual currency was harder to come by. She would often come home with her hands full, making it hard for her to open the door by herself.

When Katniss opened the door, she was shocked to see not her mother, but rather Greasy Sae standing in front of her. In her hands was a large box, the contents of which were a complete mystery to Katniss.

"Can I come in?" the older lady asked.

"Uh…yes…" Katniss said, gesturing to the living room. Sae walked over to the small table in front of the mass of cushions that they used as a couch and set the box down.

"After you left, I kept thinking about you," Sae said. "You've done so much for your family. More than any girl should have to. And you deserve a night of fun."

"But…Prim…" Katniss said.

Sae shook her head. "I'll take care of Prim until you or your mother get home," she said. "You go to your party and dance the night away."

Katniss was awestruck. For the life of her she could not figure out why Sae would leave her own responsibilities to help her go to something as silly as a little party. Sae seemed to pick up on the fact that Katniss was shocked by her arrival and sighed.

"But…why…" Katniss started.

"Because I am your friend," Sae said. "And I want you to have a night where you don't have to carry the world on your shoulders."

It was strange to Katniss that for two times in the same day she had been struck with the reality that she had friends in District 12 apart from her family and Gale. She had lived her entire life thinking the people who had made up her life saw her as nothing more than a girl in the background. She never thought that Madge saw her as more than a girl she ate lunch with, or that Sae saw her as anything more than a girl who was good at catching squirrels. She couldn't help but wonder who else in her life thought much more of her than she ever had considered before.

"I…" Katniss bit her lip and shifted on her feet. "I still don't have anything to wear."

It was then that Sae opened the box that she brought. When Katniss saw what was inside, her heart skipped a beat. It was very simple. Cotton. But the only dress that she had ever seen that looked even remotely as beautiful was the one that used to hang in her mother's closet – the one that her mother had worn when she married her father. They had to sell it about a year after her father died.

"Sae-"

"It was my daughters," Sae said, running her hand over the light green fabric. "She wore it to her wedding. I'm sure it won't be as fancy as what those merchant girls will be wearing. But you look to be about the same size…"

"Sae, I can't…"

"Yes, you can," Sae answered. "There's no use having this dress waste away in a box for years. I paid a good penny for it. It's about time it got some use. I only ask that you be careful with it."

"I will!" Katniss said. "Not a tear or a stain. I promise."

Sae smiled. "Good. Go put it on."

When Katniss emerged from her mother's room wearing the beautiful green dress, she was met with the smiles of both Sae and Prim. She rolled her eyes at both of them, trying to hide the fact that she was slightly embarrassed by the attention.

"You look so pretty, Katniss!" Prim said. Katniss narrowed her eyes at her sister.

"You should be in bed," Katniss replied. It was Prim's turn to roll her eyes.

"I'm not dying, Katniss," she said weakly. "I'm fine." Prim hoped off the couch and walked over to her older sister. She picked up Katniss' braid and started to pin it behind her head in the way that their mother had done to them so many times.

"Thanks." Katniss said. She walked over to Sae and spread her arms to her sides. "How do I look?"

Sae smiled. "You look beautiful," she said. She walked back over to her box and took out a pair of dainty silver shoes, the likes of which Katniss had never worn before. She handed them to Katniss and Katniss looked up at Sae nervously.

"I've never worn-"

"They're not that high, dear," she said. "You'll be fine." It was true that the shoes were not that high. The heel was just over an inch off of the ground. Still, Katniss was used to walking around in sturdy hunting boots.

"I don't think I'll be able to walk all the way there in these…" she said. Sae chuckled knowingly and walked her over to the front door. When the door opened, Katniss saw Gale leaning against a wooden wheelbarrow holding a single stack of hay.

"Your carriage awaits," he said with a smirk. Katniss laughed and slipped the shoes on her feet.

* * *

The ride was going fine until Gale drove the wheelbarrow right into a mud puddle on the path leading to the mayor's house. For the past fifteen minutes, Katniss had been sitting on the stack of hay being jerked around while he tried to maneuver the stubborn wheel out of the soft spot in the ground. She was starting to lose her patience.

"This is ridiculous," she said. "Just let me get out and we can pick up the wheelbarrow and carry it over the puddle," Katniss said.

"No!" Gale answered. "You'd have to take the shoes off and you'd get mud all over your feet."

"Stop being stupid, Gale," Katniss said. "I don't care."

Gale suddenly stopped, letting go of the wheelbarrow and leaning against it so that he was face to face with her. Katniss leaned back as their faces suddenly got too close for her comfort.

"I care," he said.

"On Sunday it seemed like you would rather cut your eyes out than see me go to a merchant party," she said.

Gale was panting from the effort of trying to get the wheelbarrow unstuck. He took a moment to catch his breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I just want you to be happy…"

"I would have been just fine not going," Katniss said. Gale shook his head.

"No…" he said. "I want…" he trailed off, looking off into the distance as he tried to gather his thoughts together. "Never mind," he said with a sigh. Katniss was about to insist that he continue when she was suddenly jerked forward with a sharp burst of force. She bounced as Gale finally got the wheelbarrow out of the muddy ditch.

He was silent for the rest of the trip. Katniss watched him sweat and pant as he pushed her the remaining few yards of the journey. She had never really given much thought to how strong he was before. Working in the mines had certainly ensured that he was at the height of physical fitness. Still she felt bad having him push her all the way there, especially since things had been so weird between them lately.

When Gale finally stopped in front of the mayor's house, Katniss was subject to dozens of judgmental stares by some of the merchants in town, the most intense of which being the glare she received from the baker's wife. Between her scornful gaze and the sympathetic look that their youngest son was sending her, the Mellark family's presence was enough to make her want to ask Gale to turn around and take her back home. She had no business here.

Gale was watching them as well. His eyes held a look of pure and utter contempt, and Katniss was about to thank him for glaring Mrs. Mellark down when she noticed that his problem seemed to be with Peeta. At first she did not understand why. But when she thought about it she realized that Gale had never been one to take gestures of pity kindly, even if it was just a look.

"I'll be here at midnight," he said, still watching Peeta Mellark as he and his family walked through the front door. "To pick you up."

"Okay," Katniss said. Gale reached out his arms for her and she wrapped hers around his neck. She hopped down off of the wheelbarrow and Gale helped steady her as she hit the ground.

"Have fun," he said with a smile.

It turned out that having fun at such a party was a lot more easier said than done. For a brief moment Katniss thought she might have fun. When she walked into the door and Madge had thrown her arms around her, excited beyond words that her friend had shown up, Katniss was very glad that Greasy Sae had made it possible for her to come. However, that quickly went away as she descended the staircase into the formal room in which the party was being held.

In that one moment, Katniss had more eyes on her than she had ever had in her life, and she knew that most of the people who were staring at her as she climbed down the stairs were not very thrilled to see her there. Some of the younger boys in the crowd were whispering things to each other, nudging each other with their elbows while they laughed at her expense. Surely they were mocking her for not being as tailored and manicured as all of the other girls at the party. The girls, for that matter, were looking at her as if she were a piece of road kill that they had to step over on their way to the party. Lastly, there were the adults, who simply looked as if they could not fathom why a girl of her skin color would show up to such a formal event.

Katniss had found refuge by a punch bowl where a large number of wallflowers similar to herself were congregating. However, as time went on, more and more of them left for the dance floor, leaving Katniss to herself. She couldn't help but think that she would be having a lot more fun if she could only talk to Madge. Unfortunately, as the daughter of the mayor, it was her job to do as much mingling as possible. In the meantime, Katniss was spending her time alone.

"Don't look so happy to be here, sweetheart."

Katniss jerked her head to the side as she heard the voice of the one person she never expected to have a conversation with in her life. Haymitch Abernathy, the only living victor of District 12, was standing right next to her, ladling a small amount of punch into a glass and filling the rest of it with white liquor from a flask he retrieved from his inside coat pocket. She did not respond.

"From what I've heard about you," he said with a slur. "I wouldn't think you would be so afraid of a room full of idiots."

Katniss glared at him and folded her arms over her chest. "Is there anyone you don't think is an idiot?" she asked.

Haymitch laughed. "They're certainly hard to come by, darlin'," he answered before downing his drink in just a couple of gulps. "Care to dance?"

Katniss did not have time to say no before Haymitch had grabbed her arm and ushered her onto the dance floor. "That blond kid's been staring at you all night," he said. Katniss had to turn her head away to escape the rank stench of alcohol on his breath. "I'm conducting a little experiment here," he said.

"What experiment?"

Haymitch laughed a condescending laugh and Katniss rolled her eyes. She had a feeling that there was nothing that Haymitch Abernathy did not find amusing as he sat in a house full of riches and watched the rest of them starve. It made him completely and utterly despicable in her eyes.

"I want to see how long it takes for lover boy to come to your rescue," he answered.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Katniss said. Haymitch did not had time to respond. Almost instantaneously he was tapped on the shoulder by Peeta Mellark. The look of pure amusement on his face grew ten fold. Katniss just looked confused.

"May I cut in?" Peeta asked.

Haymitch laughed and took a swig from his flask. "Be my guest, kid."

Katniss was so distracted by watching Haymitch walk away that she hardly noticed Peeta's hand grab hold of her waist. She watched as Haymitch came face to face with the mayor's wife, quickly turning away in what looked like a panic, knocking over a waiter carrying a tray of some fancy pastries in the process. The mayor's wife walked away, leaving Haymitch there nursing his drink while the help clamored to pick up the lost food. Katniss rolled her eyes.

"If he's so nervous about being caught with booze, you'd think he wouldn't drink it right after an incident like that," Katniss said.

"What?" Peeta asked, craning his neck over to Haymitch. "Oh… I don't think he's nervous about that."

"What else would set him off like that?" she asked.

Peeta shrugged. "They don't like to be around each other," he answered. "Haymitch and Mrs. Undersee."

"Do you know why?" she asked.

Peeta shrugged again. "No idea."

An awkward silence settled between them as Katniss was no longer distracted by Haymitch Abernathy and suddenly remembered just whose arms in which she was being held. The longer they danced, the more tense she became. She did not meet his eye, fearful that the guilt she carried with her about that day in the rain might crush her. And now she had a whole new reason to have to thank him.

"Thanks for saving me," she said. Peeta's eyes went wide and his mouth popped open. Katniss was hit with the stupidity of what she had just said. "I mean... from Haymitch!" she quickly clarified.

"Oh….you're welcome," Peeta answered.

"But … thank you for…. I mean…"

"You look really nice," Peeta said, interrupting her. Katniss met his eyes, silently thanking him for not making her say it.

"Thank you," she replied.

"Although, compared to Effie Trinket…" Peeta jerked his head over in the direction of the District 12 escort who had come from the capitol for the mayor's party. Being the only Capitol citizen in the room, she looked absolutely ridiculous in her full length bright purple ball gown laced with jewels of all shapes and colors. Her bright yellow hair was piled about three feet on top of her head.

Katniss laughed. "Compared to Effie, we all look like dogs," she said.

"Katniss…" Peeta said. "I was wondering…"

"Katniss!" She heard Madge yell as she bounced over to them. Peeta's arms suddenly let go of her and he took a step back. "I finally have time to talk to you. I'm so glad you came. I really wanted my best friend here." Madge wrapped her arms around Katniss and Katniss watched Peeta from over her friend's shoulder. He stared down at his feet for a moment before turning around and walking over to his brother across the room.

"I'm glad I came too, Madge."

* * *

A few hours later, when Madge was asked to escort her mother up to her room on the wake of one of her headaches, Katniss found herself alone again. She looked around the room for a friendly face and was unable to find one. She then decided that instead of risking the chance of having to dance with the likes of Haymitch Abernathy again, that she would walk out to the Undersee's garden patio.

It was a very beautiful space, complete with a small fish pond and a fountain of water. There were beautiful flowers all around the and sound of the chirping crickets brought her a peace that she had not been able to find all night. Walking over to the fountain, she slipped her fingers beneath the flowing water and admired the stonework. She wondered how much it must have cost and if there was anything else like it in the entirety of District 12.

"Nice night."

Katniss jumped and turned around, seeing Peeta standing in the doorway behind her. Maybe it was the crickets or the sound of the running water, or maybe it was because she was way too far out of her element at this party, but despite all of her natural hunting instincts she had not heard him coming.

"What are you doing here?" Katniss asked with more of an edge than she had planned. Peeta looked taken aback and Katniss inwardly flinched at her brashness. "Sorry," she said. "You can be here. You can be anywhere you want."

Peeta nodded and walked over to a small bench near the place where she stood. He sat down and looked up in the sky. He pointed upwards. "Orion," he said.

"What?" Katniss asked, looking up to the sky and seeing only a smattering of stars.

"The hunter," Peeta said. He waved a hand at Katniss, telling her to join him on the bench so that he could show her. With a sigh she complied. "It's a constellation. Like a picture in the sky. The three stars there are his belt. And those are his shoulders and his sword…"

He continued to point. Katniss saw the line of stars that he was talking about, but for the life of her she could not see how they remotely resembled a hunter.

"Where did you learn this?" she asked, wondering if maybe he was just insane.

Peeta shrugged. "My dad told me," he answered. "Don't know where he learned it."

"I think your dad is crazy," she said.

"Maybe," Peeta said, continuing to look up at the stars above them. Katniss watched him as he seemed fascinated with finding other shapes in the sky. There was something about him that was very strange and unsettling to her.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked. Peeta finally tore his gaze away from the stars and looked at her.

"What?" he asked.

"Why have you been following me around all night?" Katniss couldn't help but notice the look of panic that spread across his face. But the truth was that ever since her encounter with Haymitch she had been wondering. "Don't you have a date or something?"

"No…" Peeta said. "The uh….the girl I wanted to ask wasn't sure if she was going to come."

"Oh…" Katniss said. "Did she?"

Peeta laughed and shook his head. "I really like you, Katniss."

Katniss was taken aback. A feeling of completely shock overtook her entire body and her mouth opened with a response that she was completely unable to articulate. All she could spit out in the moment after that declaration was the word, "I…"

However, Katniss soon found that a verbal reply was not necessary, as before she would even have time to complete the thought that she could not seem to organize she felt a pair of lips press up against her own.

All at once she was taken back to that moment in the woods when Gale had first kissed her. She felt the same thing, the overwhelming feeling of surprise and panic. She closed her eyes and remembered pushing Gale violently away, being so angry at him for ruining an aspect of their friendship that they would never get back. He had kissed her the last time they hunted together before he went in the mines, and even though they still hunted together now it was never the same. Their interactions were full of awkward moments like they had shared earlier today.

After Gale had kissed her she had become even more invested in her idea to never marry or fall in love. It felt weird. She hated it. She never wanted it to happen again. Yet, here she was being kissed by a boy that she hardly knew and this time she was not pushing him away.

It occurred to Katniss that the kiss had been going on for a few seconds and she had yet to react with the same violent intensity that she had when Gale had done the same. And due to this fact she was suddenly able to focus on the nice things about kissing. Peeta's lips were very soft and after eating the dessert that the Undersee's had laid out for the party, his mouth tasted like chocolate. A couple of seconds later, she actually found herself responding to the kiss – something she had never done with Gale.

Gale! She had been so distracted by the party and her moment with Peeta Mellark that she had completely forgotten that Gale was supposed to be picking her up at any moment. It was with this realization that she finally did push Peeta away. His face looked stricken, but she did not have the time to care.

"What time is it?" she said in a panic. Peeta looked over to a clock that was handing by the door of the Undersee's home.

"It's almost 12:30," he said.

"Shit!" Katniss exclaimed, bursting up from the bench and running toward the door. She took one look into the crowded home and realized immediately that it would take much longer to maneuver her way through the crowd than it would to cut through the yard. She made the choice to run through the garden, startling Peeta enough to chase her.

"Wait!" he said. "Katniss!"

Peeta continued to chase her as she ran around the house back to the front where Gale was supposed to have picked her up a half an hour ago. When she reached the front of the house, she saw Gale off in the distance, already making his way back home.

"Gale!" she shouted. He turned around for a second and Katniss waved at him, hoping that he would come back.

"Katniss!" Peeta yelled, finally catching up with her. With the appearance of Peeta, Katniss watched as Gale picked up the cart and walked back in the direction of his home.

"Gale!" she yelled again, taking down the street on foot. She left Peeta standing in her wake as she went, but he was the last of her concern at the moment. With as strange as Gale had been acting about her attending this party, the last thing she needed was him thinking that she blew him off in order to stay a little longer, especially for another guy. It seemed that losing Gale from her life completely was a reality that was not so far out of the question at the moment.

She ran as fast as her feet could take her, and she was almost caught up with him when suddenly she felt her foot sink into the very same mud filled ditch that she had been caught in earlier that day. The mud sucked her foot and her shoe into its grip, and she found it very hard to try and get herself out. It took her a few good seconds to get her foot released from the mud, and when it happened the shoe was still stuck.

She felt an overwhelming need to catch up to Gale, who was still slipping further and further into the distance, but she could not leave Greasy Sae's daughter's shoe stranded in the mud. She got down on her hands knees, dirtying the dress, and tried to pry the shoe free, but it was stuck. After about twenty seconds of trying, Gale won out and she left the shoe behind her. She took the other shoe off, carrying it in her hand while she ran after her oldest friend.

By the time Katniss caught up with him, he had closed the door to his home, not planning on opening it to her. She retuned to her home, muddy, crying, and shoeless, having to face the reality of losing Gale and breaking Greasy Sae's trust.

* * *

Katniss spent the majority of Saturday morning lying on her mother's bed, a significant portion of that time with her head resting on her mother's lap as she ran her fingers through Katniss' hair. Katniss knew that it was a gesture of comfort, but it was doing very little to make her feel any better. Soon Sae would be here and Katniss would have to explain how she had lost her shoe in a huge sticky mud puddle.

Luckily, Katniss' mother had been able to get the mud stains out of the dress, and it was currently hanging up on a line in the back yard, but there was nothing that could be done about the shoe.

Earlier in the morning she had tried to talk to Gale at his home, but Hazelle had turned her away, saying that Gale did not want to talk to anyone. Hazelle was sad and sympathetic while delivering the news, but this just served to make Katniss feel even worse.

She wanted little more than to curl up in a ball with her sister, but Prim could not even comfort her as she was still recovering from the stomach flu and her mother was worried about her being contagious.

"Katniss," said her mother as she walked into her bedroom. "There is someone here to see you," she said.

Katniss' heart dropped in her stomach. This could only mean one of two things. That Gale had come here to officially break her heart and tell her that after weeks of her spurning his advances, rejecting his proposals, and finally leaving him in a lurch last night that he had taken the hint and did not want to ever see her again, or that Greasy Sae had returned for her daughter's cherished wedding clothes, a portion of which Katniss had completely ruined and lost.

She forced herself out of her mother's bed and wrapped a blanket around herself. She slowly made her way into the living room where she was preparing herself for an unpleasant visit from whichever one of them had come to call. However, when she stepped inside she was unprepared for the sight that she saw.

"Peeta?" she asked, seeing the blond sitting in the chair by the fireplace that used to be her fathers. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

She was certainly not expecting this, and to be honest she would have much rather have seen Sae or Gale sitting there. At least with them she knew what to say and what to expect. She was still trying to wrap her mind around what happened with Peeta last night, and knowing herself it would probably take a while until she did.

"I…" Peeta began. The two young people turned their gaze to Katniss' mother who was still standing among them. The older woman cleared her throat and walked toward the hall.

"I'll go check on Prim," she said, leaving them alone.

"What are you doing here?" Katniss asked.

Peeta reached for an object setting next to him on the chair. When he pulled it out for her to see, she almost cried in relief. He was holding in his hand the shoe that she had lost last night, and it wasn't even ruined at all.

"I dug this up after you ran off," he said. "It was really muddy but….I took it to my sister-in-law and she was able to clean it."

Katniss was stunned into silence. "Thank you…" she was able to squeak as she walked over to him an took the shoe from his hands. She looked upon it, running her fingers over the silver fabric as if it were some kind of miracle. To make sure it was the same shoe, she slipped it onto her foot, relishing in the way that it didn't fit _quite _right and squished her pinky toe slightly into the rest of her toes.

"Thank you so much!" she said, finally finding her voice.

"Katniss, I…" Peeta began. "I'm really sorry about last night. I didn't….I didn't know that it would upset you so much. I didn't want to upset you. I just…"

"It didn't upset me," Katniss said. "I… It's a long story."

"Oh," Peeta said, nodding. "Well…in that case I was wondering…if…I mean…Would you like to go to the harvest festival with me? I know that it's a long way away but…"

Katniss' thoughts trailed off as Peeta continued to talk. She would be lying to herself if she said that her thoughts didn't immediately turn to Gale when Peeta asked her to go to the festival with him. But it was more out of guilt than loyalty. It would be very easy to fall in love with Gale and marry him. It was what both of their parents expected them to do. It was what most of the Seam expected them to do. The only problem was that Katniss did not love Gale – at least not in that way.

She didn't love Peeta either. After all, they had hardly ever spoken to each other in their eighteen years of existence. She also still was not completely sure if she ever wanted to get married at all. But Katniss could not deny that there was something about Peeta. There was something about kissing Peeta that made her not want to push him away. That was something that she had never felt with Gale.

There was also the fact that she now owed Peeta more than she could dream possible. She owned him her life, and now she owned him this. It would make it very hard for her to say no.

"…And I don't want you to say yes because you feel like you owe me."

With that declaration, Katniss removed herself from her thoughts and met Peeta's gaze.

"Because you don't owe me anything. That…" Peeta trailed off, nervous about facing the incident that they both avoided talking about. "That was a long time ago, and you repaid us more than you can possibly imagine with all your squirrels. And you don't owe me for the shoe. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have had to chase after Gale in the first place…"

"Peeta…" Katniss began.

"No!" he said. "I really like you Katniss. And I _know_ that you feel like you owe me a date to the harvest festival. But I don't want to you go with me out of some twisted made up obligation. And if you really feel like you owe me then….then repay me by only agreeing to go if you actually want to go with me."

Katniss did not know what to do. She was shocked and startled that Peeta had even showed up here to begin with, and now she was startled by a whole new set of emotions. She did feel as if she owed him, but she also felt something else that she could not explain. Perhaps it came from the realization that Peeta seemed to understand her on a level that she never expected him to, or maybe she was still reeling from his surprising display of affection the night before, but she was suddenly met with the desire to get to know Peeta better, for no other reason than she simply wanted to.

"Yes."

"What?" Peeta asked, the look on his face being one of complete shock and awe.

"I want to go to the harvest festival with you," Katniss said.

Peeta leaped out of the chair and walked over to Katniss, throwing his arms around her and squeezing her. She expected him to kiss her again, but he did not. Katniss was grateful for that and added it to her short list of ways that Peeta seemed to understand her. She hoped that with time it would grow.

"Thank you, Katniss!" he said before breaking the hug. "I have to go. But I'll see you at school on Monday!"

Peeta walked out her door and started running back to town with a spring in his step. To say that she wasn't nervous would be a lie. She was nervous about what would happen about her and Gale. She was nervous about letting someone into her life when she wasn't sure about what her future would hold. However, a larger part of her felt differently. A larger part of her was happy.

When Peeta disappeared into the small wooded area separating the Town and the Seam, Katniss closed the door. She turned around and once again looked down at the shoe in her hand that she thought was lost forever. When she looked at it, she did something that she had yet to do the entire day.

She smiled.

* * *

Thanks for reading. :) To those of you reading Moving Through Fire, I have not abandoned it. I just started a new job and have just now settled into the point where I have time to write again. I'll be working on it soon.


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